Twin Moose Calves - WOW

You won't get to see this scene very often!  We are moving into the days when we see more and more moose coming back into the area (those that haven't been killed by the burgeoning wolf population here in our valley.  The moose population is way down here and in other areas as well.  But that's another story. . . .)

 I looked out my kitchen window about 7 a.m. this morning and I saw these two guys!  So cool!  My mother and her pals were still here, so they got to see them and take pictures also.  Such a treat.  Mama Moose was very nearby - mamas never let babies get very far away.  Moose are so very curious - like deer - very curious.

 These guys wandered around for awhile - they didn't seem to be the least bit concerned.  (I was taking pictures out the window, so they weren't threatened nor frightened).

 Yesterday we had the treat of hearing and seeing a pair of sandhill cranes!  There are actually two in this picture - you can click on it to see it full size.

Their cry is very distinctive - never any doubt about what we're hearing. What a treat.  Moose three days in a row.  A cute, photogenic little dear and sandhill cranes.  Lucky.  Beautiful place to live!

WHEELIN' !!!

My mother came to visit for a couple days and brought two of her favorite pals with her, Pat Bridwell and Marcia Seitz.  (Both are women from my childhood and our church, so I have known them for a long time - it was fun to have them!)  They just didn't know what I had planned for them.  We started out with a drive up the side of Maverick Mountain Ski Area to one of my favorite places to photograph lupine.  On our way up Pat was paying attention out the window and saw a bear!!!  So we stopped to snap a few photos.

 Now that was something extra on my tour, for sure.

 This is high up on the side of Maverick Mountain.  Often at this time of year this field is full of lupine, but I'm thinking this year it might still be a little early.  But it's a beautiful place to take pictures - something like "Sound of Music."  We can see our house from here.  Love it.  I do think these lovely ladies may have wondered whether or not we would make it up the mountain as I made the wrong turn at one point on our drive up and ended up on the wrong road - a high, winding, narrow road - straight down on one side in some spots....  I think there might have been some white knuckles as I backed down the road!!!  But they were good sports about it.  (I think!)  No screeching or screaming.

 We headed up to the Sawtooth Trailhead and walked in to this tree where I love to take photos.  Cool, huh!

 Marcia Seitz, Pat Bridwell, Lois Thornhill - my mother.

 Now.  On to the REAL adventure.  Four Wheelin' !!!  No.  None of them had ever ridden before.  But they were good sports about even this - even she who was designated novice driver!  Somebody (who shall remain nameless) did mention several times that she was scared - I told her not to cry or pee her pants!  Oh, me of no sympathy - this is an adventure after all!  Live a little.

 They did.  They had fun.  I think they may be telling this story for awhile - there's lots to tell!

 I finally did find a field of lupine and I made them sit in it!  (Oh, me of no sympathy - anything for a photo - right???)

 I gave them a break the next day and I drove them over into the Bitterroot Valley and to Hamilton.  I love that area and it's a delightful little Montana town - lots of fun shopping - and we stopped at the yarn shop.  A GREAT yarn shop.  I will be going back there.  Then I took them to my favorite restaurant, The River's Edge, and we sat outside and had an absolutely delightful lunch.  The waitress even brought out a bowl of water for my little Chico!

 This was our view as we lingered over our lunch.  It doesn't get much better than this.

 Well.  It's pretty nice at our house, too!  We love having guests to entertain (any excuse to set a table, you know!)  We enjoyed wonderful, fun conversation and they taught me to play Hand and Foot (a card game), which I actually enjoyed - especially when Marcia and I won the second evening. . . .  (We sort of got trounced the night before.)

 I'm going to be making this breakfast entree again.  It's peanut butter and banana - yes! -  it was delicious!  With a light coating of maple syrup.  YUMMY.

Beautiful wild flowers this time of year.

MORE MOOSE!!!

 It's no wonder I NEVER get any blooms from my garden.  If it's not the deer, it's the moose.  (These are taken very early in the morning, in low light, and through the living room window, so the quality is BAD.)

 I recognize this bull - he has notches in both ears and he's been around before!

 As he nonchalantly saunters away from my garden.  I couldn't get him to move on even after going outside and trying to shoo him away.  Do I love them or hate them?

 So the one bull took off and not 3 minutes later 3 more wandered across in front of the house - two cows and one bull trailing behind.  They didn't stick around to eat my garden.  Good thing.

 But within 5 minutes this is what I saw out my window!  If it isn't the moose, it's the deer.  And the deer are not supposed to like the stuff I spray on my plants.  YEAH, RIGHT. . . .

 He's a cute little thing.

 He's just lucky I didn't fill him full of birdshot.

Morning Magic in the Grasshopper Valley

It doesn't matter which direction we walk from our house on our daily hikes, it is beautiful.  We are so lucky to live here.

 Sunrise on the pond.  Faintly in the far side of the pond you can see steam rising off the water.  Wonder what that means. . . .

 This is one of our "sittin' spots" on our property which obviously needs some weed wacker attention, but I couldn't bear to cut down the flowers!  I would rather sit in them.

 My walk yesterday included walking alone the Grasshopper Creek.  Grasshopper Creek is where gold was originally discovered down by Bannack and the Montana gold rush was on.  Here in our valley (above Bannack) it is still beautiful and pristine.

Can't see any fish here, but folks tell me the fishing is pretty good!

Come walk with me sometime!  I'll show you some beautiful places!

Moose In The Morning

I heard furious barking from Chico this morning standing at the full-glass dining room porch door, so I walked over to investigate what it was that set him off (he has been trained not to bark!).

She's beautiful!  Looks like a yearling calf.  Hope she comes back again so I can get better pictures.  Fortunately, I had cleaned the glass on the door!